Spending on Construction Rises

U.S. spending on residential and commercial construction projects inched up 0.2% in August compared with July, reaching just over $2.1 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Despite the monthly gain, total construction spending was down 1.6% from a year earlier. The release of August data had been delayed due to the federal government shutdown that ended last week.

Private residential construction led the monthly increase, rising 0.8% to $914.8 billion. In contrast, private nonresidential spending slipped 0.3% to $737.3 billion.

On an annual basis, private single-family construction spending declined 1.1%, while the multifamily sector posted a steeper 7.1% drop. Most nonresidential categories also recorded year-over-year decreases: retail and warehouse construction fell 8.9%, manufacturing was down 8.5%, and lodging dropped 4%. One notable exception was religious construction, which surged 20.8% from a year earlier.

“Nonresidential construction spending contracted for the third time in the past four months in August and is now down 1.5% year over year,” said Anirban Basu, chief economist for the Associated Builders and Contractors, in a statement Monday. “The manufacturing and commercial categories have been particularly weak in 2025, while momentum remains confined almost exclusively to the data center segment.”